UN relief agencies report aid delivery to Syria

Humanitarian aid supplies have been delivered to a number of areas in Syria over the past few days, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said Friday, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Xinhua reported.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Thursday provided an airlift of 31 metric tons of relief supplies from Damascus to Qamishly, including medicines, vaccines for 250,000 people, medical equipment and winterized relief items, Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here.

A UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) team was also able to deliver a limited number of food parcels in Yarmouk Thursday, but was forced to withdraw following reports of gunfire near the distribution point, he said.

A further 50 males who left Old Homs City were reportedly cleared on Thursday, according to the Governor of Homs, he said. " That leaves some 72 males awaiting screening. UN protection officers remain on site to monitor the situation."

More than 1,370 people have so far been evacuated from Homs since Feb. 7, Nesirky told reporters here earlier this month.

Some 2,500 Syrians have been trapped in Homs without outside aid for nearly two years in what has become an iconic symbol of the suffering endured by civilians in the war's relentless bombardments and sieges.

The conflict has left more than 100,000 people dead as well as 9.3 million people within Syria and more than 2 million others outside the country in bad need of humanitarian assistance.

Last Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution demanding "rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access" of UN humanitarian aid in the war-torn Syria.